I Hate Sequels
by WinglessBird
Summary: Alone, injured and tired, Tony couldn't wait to get home.


His head hurt.

No, not like a migraine headache or from a concussion…more of a thinking-too-hard type of headache. Okay and_ possibly_ from a concussion. At least, he hopes it's from a concussion and nothing more. He thinks that he might be going crazy. He's rambling to himself and it reminds him of Abby.

He wonders where Gibbs and his team are. _So cliché_, he reflects. Here he is- cold and tired in a worn out warehouse with two dead guys in the nearby elevator. Still waiting for the team though. It reminds him of the movie The Departed. Not really a classic, per se, but an action film with an A-list cast does give it that special touch. It's not like he's comparing himself to Matt Damon. His character was the only one to survive that fight scene though. Damon was the bad guy after all. No, he's not like Damon. He's more like Leonardo DiCaprio- except his character Billy Costigan ends up dying. Fine, so it's not that similar to the Departed-very different in fact. While the agent _is_ hurting, he's nowhere near death. _Unless I'm never found_, Tony mused glumly.

"Just stop thinking and get up", Tony whispered softly. He doesn't want to though. A feeling of calm had spread through him after the fight. Lying on the filthy floor, arms spread out while staring at the ceiling. The fists, wooden beams and pretty much anything else they were able to find really did a number on him. He thinks that he might've broken some ribs as well. Breathing was starting to hurt. Maybe he will end up like dear Billy Costigan. _This could make an awesome sequel_, he thought.

"What am I talking about? I hate sequels. It would put Scorsese to shame", the agent mumbled out loud. Tony groaned as he got up on his elbows. Blinking through the fog and darkness he noticed that it was completely silent. Not a single cricket could be heard. It scared him a bit. Everything had an eerie feeling about it.

Shaking his head from those thoughts, Tony looked around him. Somewhere at sometime, he dropped his cell. The agent placed his palms on the floor and moaned quietly as he finally stood up. His head hurt, his ribs hurt and something felt off with his left ankle. Tony limped towards the nearest wall and stood against it. He used his right arm to rub against his temple and eyes. He closed his eyes and bent his backwards to rest against the wall. Suddenly, a feeling of dread swam through him and he dropped to the ground, grunting as it jarred his ribs. Where was Gibbs? He knew McGee could've easily traced his cell. He had called Gibbs a few hours before telling him about a possible lead, so yes; the phone had a good enough signal to trace thank you very much.

"Come on Boss," he said to the room, "I don't think I'm doing too well. Where the hell are you?"

Tony was too tired to get up again, so instead, he chose to crawl. Stretching one arm in front of the other and practically dragging his knees along as well, Tony blindly patted the ground searching for the phone. He had only moved a few feet before he started panting. The agents' ribs were getting progressively painful and there was an unusual feeling on the right side of his chest- like someone sitting on him. Instead of panicking and causing any further damage, he slowed down his breaths and continued searching. After 20 excruciating minutes of pain and agony, he finally found the phone in the furthest corner of the room. Tony was gasping for each breath. He had started shivering a while ago, but only now had he realized how cold he really was. He grabbed the phone with his left hand and rested his back against the corner of the wall. Tony's fingers were numb and few moments passed before he finally flipped the cell open. It took him a while to notice that the screen remained black but when he did he started to panic_. Had the phone's battery died?_ But rather than plaguing himself with any other possibilities, he pressed the power button. Three long, painful seconds passed before the home screen flashed open. Tony yipped in excitement. But before he could conjure up the energy to dial Gibbs' number, he started coughing.

And coughing. The coughing fit had only lasted a few minutes but felt like eternity. Black dots were dancing in front of his eyes and while he couldn't wait to get home and snuggle under his warm Thai bed sheets, he sighed contentedly as he collapsed and fell unconscious.

A loud thud pulls him away from the darkness. That and the scorching pain running up his throat as he coughs. His body squirms and he screams from the pain on his side. Tony thinks that he might have heard Gibbs but his mind kept blanking out, moving in and out of consciousness. There might be hands now, moving over his body, but he's not too sure.

"Tony…Tony can you hear me?" Gibbs took off his jacket and placed it gently under Tony's head.

He got no response. His agents' wheezing and grey lips were causing him to worry. He placed his hand softly on Tony's chest and realized that although the left side seemed to be rising and falling sporadically, the right side seemed deflated.

The team leader lifts the agent so that Tony's back was to his chest- hoping it would both help him breathe better and to share body warmth. The young man was freezing.

"Come on Tony, come on. Take it easy, just breath son, breath," Gibbs whispers.

Tony looked up and blinked through the tears, "Bo-boss?"

"Yea, Tony, that's good. I'm here, I got ya."

Tony rests against Gibbs chest and accepts himself to plunge further into the warmth. Tony's still shivering. He's cold, really cold and Gibbs notices. The team leader picks up his jacket from where Tony's head was and drapes it over Tony.

He wants to sleep and just float away from the pain, so he closes his eyes. A thought struck him though and his eyes slip open as he looks towards the destroyed elevator.

"…the cri-crime ssss-scene boss…"

Gibbs tightens his arms around Tony. He's still having trouble breathing and feels like he's going to pass out very soon.

Gibbs looks towards the scene, "It's being taken care of, Tony. McGee and back up are working on it."

He looked back at Tony and found the senior field agent looking at him with unclear eyes, tears strolling down his cheeks. Tony feels horrible and knows that he probably looks horrible with the darkening bruises around his eyes and the blood clumped in his hair.

"Hey Buh-Bossss", Tony grunts, "I-I muh-might eh-end up bee-being ju-jussst like-like Bih-Billy aff-after all", and before he could hear Gibbs' response, darkness pulls him away.

"I don't know who that is, Tony." Gibbs replies softly but Tony was already unconscious. He doesn't, and he doesn't think he wants to know who he is anyway. Gibbs softly brushed his fingers through the senior field agents' hair and turned to look at McGee.

"Where's the ambulance, McGee?" he asked with both concern and authority.

"They…um, Ziva. She-she," he cleared his throat, "Ziva's outside waiting for them. They're on their way."

As if on cue, the sirens were finally heard. After a few minutes had passed, Ziva rushed through the broken-down doors with the paramedics on tow. They quickly but gently strapped Tony on to the stretcher and carried him out to the ambulance. The young paramedics put him in the back of the vehicle, slammed the doors, and drove off hurriedly.

"Lets go", Gibbs suddenly said as he ran to the car. McGee and Ziva quickly caught up to the team leader and jumped into the Sedan. The vehicle left a cloud of dust as it hastily sped off after the ambulance.

His head still hurts.

And yes, this time he's pretty sure it's from a concussion. His ribs and chest also hurt though. Not too much, but just enough to know that something happened.

"Open your eyes" he hears abruptly "I know you're awake."

Gibbs.

Who else would it be? He cracks his left eye open first, and when he realizes that the hospital lights are not too bright, he opens his right eye as well. He sees Gibbs sitting on a chair on the right side if his bed.

"Heh-Hey Boss. What-what's the damage?"

Gibbs stared at Tony. He wanted to question his agent, but knew it was not the time. So instead, he answered. "You've been out for three days. You've got a severely sprained ankle. It's gonna take a few weeks to heal" he ignored Tony's squeak and continued, "a mild concussion and two of your right ribs are broken. One punctured your lung."

Tony looked down at his feet. He hadn't known how bad his injuries were but glad his team got to him on time.

Breaking the silence, "Why was your phone off?" Gibbs asked in a gruff tone.

"Whuh-what?" It felt like a cat had died in his mouth.

Gibbs got up, poured a cup of water from the nearby beaker and placed the straw near Tony's lips. "Slow sips Tony."

After painfully swallowing a couple of sips, Tony looked questioningly at his boss.

"You told me you were checking up on a possible lead. You never told me where though and you never called back either. We had to put out a BOLO out on you 'cause your phone was off and we had no idea where you went. McGee was finally able to track your cell after it was turned on. Why was the phone off Tony?"

Tony's eyes shifted from right to left a few times. "I-I don't know, Boss. I guess during the time the crooks decided to make me their punching bag the phone slid away and accidently powered off." His voice was hoarse, "You know that happens, right?" He coughed once. "I'm not just making it up Boss." He coughed twice. "You can even ask McG-"

"Stop talking DiNozzo", Gibbs cut him off "It hurts to listen to you."

Tony gave him a shocked look. Instead of saying anything, Gibbs gently tapped his agents' cheek, walked towards the door, turned off the lights, said a quick sleep tight, and walked out.

Just when Tony was drifting off to blissful darkness, Gibbs popped his head back into his room and looked directly at his partner. Tony snapped his eyes open.

"You _will_ be explaining who Billy is". And just as quickly as he popped in, he left.

It took a few moments for Tony to follow what Gibbs was talking about, but when he did, he smiled softly and closed his eyes. As he was entering the world of swimsuit models and family, he realized something.

His head doesn't really hurt that much.

Thanks for reading. This is my first time posting so please be kind. And I'm not too sure if I did the Line breaks correctly. Please review.


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